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Upon arriving at the top chairlift station I began the short walk over to the first spot I was to visit on the mountain. One thing I appreciated immediately while walking was that, despite weaving around a mountainside, the main pathway, called trail number 1, was paved and well-kempt, making the mountain accessible not just to hardcore hikers but also to a wide range of other people.
Walking from the top of the chairlift or cable car to the summit along trail number 1 takes around 50 minutes and is a relatively gentle affair. There are other, unpaved paths that pass other parts of the mountain, and this collective network of paths is one of Mount Takao's special charms.
After a short walk I arrived at the Mount Takao Monkey Park and Wildflower Garden. I was particularly eager to see the monkey park, in which there are around 70 resident monkeys that visitors can observe from an elevated observation platform. I enjoyed watching the monkeys jump around and socialize, and relished the chance to feed them. For 100 yen I bought a box of monkey food and, tossing pieces down into the enclosure, watched on as the crafty scamps swept up the food as soon as it hit the floor.
Following the fun at the monkey park, it was time to stroll further along the winding paths of Mount Takao, where I eventually came to the main precincts of Takaosan Yakuoin Temple.
Yakuoin is a temple dedicated to the practice of mountain worship, with over 1000 years of history. Mountain worship combines tenets of both Buddhism and Shinto, and this is beautifully reflected in some of the Shinto features that Yakuoin boasts on its grounds, including a large, vermilion torii gate in its upper grounds. Another very interesting feature of this temple is the heavy presence of tengu throughout the grounds.
Tengu are mythical, human-like creatures that are said to embody the spirits of the mountains and forests. Tengu are easily identifiable by their long noses, with some tengu even bearing bird-like beaks. It was a first for me to wander around a temple and see so many tengu statues, some of which looked decidedly menacing! I made my way through the pretty grounds of the temple and at the top found myself on the final stretch towards the summit.
Following a ten minute trek further along the winding pathways I reached the summit of Mount Takao! I was greeted at the top by a marker which designated the height at 599 meters. A
few steps further on from this marker is the main observation deck, from where those who have made it this far can enjoy views of the undulating landscape that surrounds Mount
Takao.
On clear days it is possible to see Mount Fuji from here, however I wasn't so lucky today, as cloud cover made the mountain invisible. Regardless, the views from up
here were impressive, and I took a few leisurely minutes to take in the views and relax before heading back down the mountain.
